American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias®

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Register here to gain access to SAGE's 500+ Journals Online

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Molinuevo, J. L.
Right arrow Articles by Rami, L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Molinuevo, J. L.
Right arrow Articles by Rami, L.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias®, Vol. 20, No. 2, 77-85 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/153331750502000206

Memantine: Targeting glutamate excitotoxicity in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias

José L. Molinuevo, MD, PhD

Albert Lladó, MD

Lorena Rami, PhD

Unitat Memoria-Alzheimer, Institut Clinic Malalties del Sistema Nerviós (ICMSN), Hospital Clinic i Universitari, Barcelona, Spain

The management of dementia has changed since the development of new antidementia drugs. The benefits observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) with selective cholinergic transmission treatments are mainly symptomatic, without clear evidence of neuroprotection. The hypothesis that glutamate-mediated neurotoxicity is involved in the pathogenesis of AD is finding increasingly more acceptance in the scientific community. Glutamate receptors are overactive, and N-methyl-Daspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists have therapeutic potential for the treatment of AD and other neurological disorders. Memantine is a noncompetitive NMDA antagonist that is considered a neuroprotective drug. Memantine's capacity has been demonstrated in preclinical studies, and it is considered a useful symptomatic treatment for AD. Memantine has been shown to benefit cognition, function, and global outcome in patients with moderate to severe AD, and it is currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of moderate to severe AD. Recently, memantine has also demonstrated efficacy in the initial stages of AD, although FDA authorization is pending. This review highlights the important pharmacological and clinical aspects of memantine, as well as some basic mechanisms mediating glutamatergic neurodegeneration.

Key Words: memantine • Alzheimer’s disease • dementia • glutamate • N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 cfpHome page
F. Massoud
Maladie d'Alzheimer
Can Fam Physician, January 1, 2007; 53(1): 50 - 54.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 AM J ALZHEIMERS DIS OTHER DEMENHome page
C. F. Lippa
An Individualized Approach to Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease, Pick's Disease, and Other Dementias.
American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, October 1, 2006; 21(5): 354 - 359.
[Abstract] [PDF]